Suchergebnisse

Examines women's changing roles in the military in the wake of the Persian Gulf War & the potential impact of these changes for activist-based theories of feminist antimilitarism, including ecofeminism. Conventional theories of feminist antimilitarism have typically endorsed the notion of women as peacekeepers. But as the Persian Gulf War demonstrates, women are beginning to occupy important combat positions in ways that upset the equation of women with peace. This has generated a larger social debate on the place of women in combat, & on women's gender identity in general. It is suggested that this war was framed in the mainstream media as a rebirth of masculinity in the wake of the Vietnam War & as a technicization & domestication of notions of mother & nature. To combat this frame, it is argued that socialist ecofeminist must develop an alternative vision that works from the personal to the international & derives strategies closely connected to the context of their generation. D. M. Smith

Reports on a case study of 16 married women working in the machine-made jewelry production sector of the Noida Export Processing Zone near Delhi, India, that was part of a larger study conducted in 1996-97. Data were obtained from interviews focused on the impact of waged work on income control & the sharing of domestic work. Three of the women reported that the men control income & never share in household chores; three indicated that their spouses control income but share in household chores; two said they control income but their husbands never help with chores; & eight reported joint control of income & sharing chores. It is concluded that women's wage employment leads to changes in traditional gender regimes & the ability of women to negotiate in order to strike a "better bargain." The study contradicts previous research indicating little sharing of household work by men upon entry of women into waged work & suggests that waged work opens new spaces of empowerment for women. 1 Table. J. Lindroth

Reports on a case study of 16 married women working in the machine-made jewelry production sector of the Noida Export Processing Zone near Delhi, India, that was part of a larger study conducted in 1996-97. Data were obtained from interviews focused on the impact of waged work on income control & the sharing of domestic work. Three of the women reported that the men control income & never share in household chores; three indicated that their spouses control income but share in household chores; two said they control income but their husbands never help with chores; & eight reported joint control of income & sharing chores. It is concluded that women's wage employment leads to changes in traditional gender regimes & the ability of women to negotiate in order to strike a "better bargain." The study contradicts previous research indicating little sharing of household work by men upon entry of women into waged work & suggests that waged work opens new spaces of empowerment for women. 1 Table. J. Lindroth

Beginning with an overview of the salience of power in the conceptualization of male identities in contemporary Western society, examined is how men use language to construct their identities. Data from an ongoing ethnographic study of a US university fraternity are drawn on, & in-depth analyses offered of the discursive strategies used by 4 members to construct their power & identities in accordance with the "male" qualities valued by the fraternity, eg, competitiveness, control, loyalty, pragmatism, leadership, confidence, & success. Ways that the men use specific language strategies to promote their prescribed identities are illustrated with conversation excerpts, arguing that the fraternity setting constrains men's presentations of self in proscribed ways. 12 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Discusses the meanings of gender & motherhood in the right-wing white separatist World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), arguing that (1) women members are constructed as arbiters of white supremacy via motherhood & household management & (2) extremist discourses normalize racism via motherhood. Analysis of 11 issues of the Internet-based FRIWomen's Frontier Newsletter posted in 1999 demonstrates that the WCOTC's white racist motherhood embodies a separatism born of alienation & uncertainty regarding gender & motherhood; a sense not uncommon in society. The writings of WCOTC member Lisa Turner are highlighted to illustrate the racialization of reproduction & to detail the ideals of white separatism that motherhood ought to exemplify in terms of domestic chores, feeding & cooking practices, & home schooling. In the WCOTC, women are constructed wholly as mothers, with mothering practices central to the creation of white separatism & supremacy. Further, through the discourse of motherhood, racism is contextualized as an aspect of everyday mothering. That white separatist ideology taps into cultural tensions over gender & family extant in mainstream society is seen as a cause for concern. J. Zendejas

Explores white separatist views on gender, feminism, nature, & social change, drawing on interview & questionnaire data from 188 white separatists & focusing on the experiences of 4 high-profile couples in the white separatist movement. At issue is demonstrating the similarities & differences in views across the movement. Attention is given to how (1) members blame the rise of feminism & economic changes linked to capitalism & postindustrialization for problems in gendered relationships, (2) women are accepting of the patriarchal family structure, & (3) in terms of pragmatic egalitarianism, various organizations &/or ideas of a white separatist society offer alternatives promoting the survival of the white race by way of accommodation & resistance. J. Zendejas

Examines right-wing Chilean women's construction of womanhood & sexuality during the Pinochet dictatorship. The military regime's 1973-1990 trajectory is described, noting women's strong support. It is argued that, for these women, there was an organic & "natural" link between womanhood & sexuality. The former was synonymous with motherhood, which signified heterosexuality & marriage. Conceptions about gender & sexuality informed & reflected their views on society & politics. Their attitudes toward sexuality existed prior to the military regime & influenced its willingness & capacity to express its own ideas on the issues; ie, the dictatorship propagated the fundamental beliefs of these right-wing women rather than exercised any kind of sexual repression. Reproduction & abortion are discussed before pondering why right-wing women did not consider homosexuality a danger to the family, suggesting that homosexuality's invisibility in Chilean society meant that it simply did not register on the right-wing women's radar. In addition, their rejection of feminism is addressed. Rightist women's support of the military regime is best explained via their understandings of sexuality; the dictatorship represented morality & proper living vis-a-vis gender relations, thus affirming these women's worldview. J. Zendejas

Examines women's agency in Turkish Islamic revivalism, focusing on the 1980s new veiling movement. The Islamist women's movement is situated along the continuum of Turkish women's activism before scrutinizing how Islamist women's identity is defined in terms of the Kemalist idea of the new Turkish woman & the Islamist construct of the traditional woman. It is argued that Islamist women's veiling in the public sphere confronts the legitimacy of the secular republic & stands in contention with secular women's groups. In addition, some Islamic women are redefining their identity with reference to Islamic sources to challenge the elite patriarchy. Together, these actions, termed "double patriarchy," curtail the possibility of Islamist women's political equality. Thus, demonstrated is how the identity claims of Islamist women are inhibited by the patriarchal Islamist elite & secular, Kemalist women. J. Zendejas

Postmodern theories of subjectivity, identity, & agency are applied to an analysis of the ways that masculinity is constructed by cultural scripts of normativity. Various sites of resistance to the centrality & power of such scripts in Western society are described, including resistance to the heterosexual matrix & profeminist activities by men. Ways that identity & coalition politics can be utilized to overcome dominant conceptualizations of masculinity & forge new masculine identities are outlined. 23 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Explores the complex ways in which black female identites have evolved in the UK, drawing on data from the life histories of 4 women. These women's narratives diverge in many important ways; they appear to be in a continual process of redefinition based on the changing nature of their cultural hybridity. However, the women's experiences of Otherness are similar, indicating that beneath their diversity exists a common thread connected to their diasporic experiences & subordinate status. The women were typicaly interested both in describing the complexity of their own experience & in assuming the identity of blackness as a position from which to articulate their social experiences. It is suggested that theorists of black female identity would do well to focus on individual & group action in particular arenas of struggle so as to keep sight of both the diversity & the similarities in the black diasporic experience. 23 References. D. Ryfe

Data collected during fieldwork, 1978-1991, are drawn on to discuss the highly gendered nature of civil society & the private-public dichotomy in Jordan & Syria. Middle Eastern states have traditionally reinforced the strict division between male/public & female/private spheres, &, in times of political upheaval, women have been able to exploit their traditional absence in the public sphere by participating in protests & performing tasks that would have led to death for men. However, recent attempts at political & economic liberalization have complicated these traditionally gendered conceptions of the public & private spheres, & women are increasingly called on to contribute to national political & economic growth. Despite the limited symbolic gains associated with such efforts, women have been (1) depicted as backward & detrimental to growth, (2) required to serve the public interests while maintaining all of their private duties, & (3) made even more dependent on male breadwinners. It is concluded that meaningful participation in civil society still eludes most Syrian & Jordanian women. 34 References. T. Sevier

"Die Soziologie der Intimität hat es mit dem Thema der Autonomie an zwei prominenten Stellen zu tun. Zum einen herrscht Einigkeit darüber, dass die moderne Autonomisierung von Intimbeziehungen und ihr damit verbundener Verlust an sozialem Außenhalt die Codierung von Intimität vor eine historisch neue Problemlage stellt. Zum anderen betont vor allem die individualisierungstheoretische Forschung, dass im Zuge dieser Umstellung auf funktionale Differenzierung auch aus der Binnenperspektive der Partner deren jeweiliges autonomes Handeln und Entscheiden zur conditio sine qua non von Intimbeziehungen werden. Historisch lässt sich hier - etwa im Hinblick auf die Eigengründung der Ehe durch autonom Liebende, die Rolle der Entscheidungsfähigkeit der Frau und die Stabilität von Paarbeziehungen - ein früher Fall beobachten, in dem die Bezugnahme auf den autonomen Willen von Personen eine zentrale Rolle für die Herausbildung einer der funktionalen Differenzierung angemessenen Semantik - hier die der romantischen Liebe - begleitet. Augenfällig wird die Wirkmächtigkeit dieser doppelten Normativität der Autonomie im Feld der Intimität insbesondere dann, wenn ihre Rolle prekär zu werden droht. In der aktuellen Debatte über den rechtlichen, politischen und ethischen Umgang mit sex work kommt der Diskursikone der Autonomie eine strukturbildende Funktion zu. Zentral ist auch hier nicht mehr allein die Frage nach der relativen Autonomie eines spezifischen Feldes: 'Geld oder Liebe?' Mehr und mehr treten Fragen nach der Freiwilligkeit, der Verfügungsgewalt über den eigenen Körper und der Autonomie der sex worker selbst in den Mittelpunkt des Interesses. Im Vergleich mit anderen Bereichen des Arbeitsmarkts lässt die Plausibilität dieser Fragen Rückschlüsse auf die (prekäre) Eigendynamik des spezifischen Feldes der Intimität zu. Diskursanalytisch lassen sich darüber hinaus die Naturwüchsigkeit des Konzeptes der Autonomie hinterfragen und seine problematischen und problemlösenden Effekte in einer mehrfach codierten Gesellschaft sichtbar machen." (Autorenreferat)

Interview data collected in 1998 from adolescents in Sweden & the Netherlands are drawn on to describe individual conceptions of sexual identity & how these are constructed, maintained, & challenged by their school experiences. The youth, ages 15-23 (including 2 heterosexuals & 1 female-to-male transsexual), discuss the politics of sexuality & sexual identity, notions of normalcy & otherness, marginalization, & their attempts to adjust to dominant notions of masculinity. Despite these societies' reputation for sexual tolerance, & a general lack of oppression & intimidation toward homosexual students, they nonetheless promote a doctrine of "normalization" via the curriculum & social life of the schools. 13 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Draws on interviews with leadership, textual analysis, & participant observation to examine the extent to which the conservative Concerned Women for America (CWA) & the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) rely on the gender identity-political representation relationship in pursuit of their goals. An overview of the CWA & IWF is provided, highlighting their essentialist worldviews, & variations in their conservative ideologies are illustrated. The concepts of descriptive & substance representation underpin a discussion of the forms that gender identity take in theses organizations' efforts. It is contended that their representational approach hinges on the fact that they are countermovement women's organizations; ie, they employ the successful strategies of their opponents: feminists. In competing with feminists over who legitimately represents women, the CWA & IWF co-opt the feminist strategies of collective action & positioning women in leadership roles; making representative claims as women is critical to them. Gender identity is thus salient to these groups; however, as countermovement organizations, invocation of gender identity is mediated by other influences. The CWA's & IWF's engagement in feminist strategies & need to appeal to conservative constituencies clash, producing paradoxes in their identity politics. At times, both organizations eschew gender identity in favor of a conservative ideology that, eg, criticizes the identity-interest relationship. Appealing to gender identity allows the CWA & IWF to legitimate their representation of women's interests & to challenge feminists, while at the same time supporting the feminist contention that women's issues & interests are politically relevant. J. Zendejas

Draws upon 20 years of fieldwork to examine the impact of globalization on labor migration & gender regimes in rural Guanajuato, Mexico, where large-scale capital-intensive agriculture dominates the economy. Land quality & the availability of irrigation affect gender regimes. The breadwinner model prevails in well-irrigated areas where large-scale agricultural operations have hired full-time workers at a sufficient wage to support wives/children. Areas that depend partly on irrigation & partly on rainfall still have small family farms with families sharing the labor. Men often travel to the US to supplement the meager farm earnings, & the women are left in charge of the household & farm. In poor, desolate areas that rely on rainfall, the men migrate to the US & often never return, leaving women as single heads of households responsible for all community duties, including political ones. It is concluded that labor migration patterns in Guanajuato illustrate how globalization in the form of imported mechanized agricultural methods & the demand for labor in the North have impacted traditional gender relations. 3 Maps. J. Lindroth